Global Beverage and Food Launches With Stevia Are Up Sharply In 2018

New Products Launched Globally with Stevia Post a +27% Increase in the First Half of 2018 vs the Same Period in 2017

CHICAGO, Oct. 16, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — PureCircle (LSE: PURE), the world’s leading producer and innovator of great-tasting stevia sweeteners, reports launches of new food and beverage products containing stevia leaf sweeteners increased significantly in the first six months of 2018 vs the comparable period in 2017. The data used in this release was provided by Mintel Global New Products Database (GNPD)*.

Specifically, new product launches with stevia rose +27% globally. About one-third of foods and beverages launched using high-intensity sweeteners** contained stevia this year, nearly double the rate when compared to the first six months in 2012.

Looking at results separately for global beverages and foods, launches of beverage products containing stevia grew 33% in the first half of 2018. Launches of food products with stevia grew 23%. As evidenced by this growth data, stevia has become a very important ingredient for beverage and food companies.

To meet this increase in demand, PureCircle has increased production capacity enabling it to supply significantly more of the best-tasting stevia sweeteners like Reb D and Reb M. That enables the company to provide customers the best-tasting stevia sweeteners in significant quantities and cost effectively. PureCircle works with a growing global network of farmers to source stevia leaf – and has begun working with farmers in North Carolina.

Consistent with the growth of stevia use in product launches, the increase relative to other zero-calorie sweeteners has also been dramatic. In the first six months of 2012, stevia was used in 16% of food and beverage products launched with high-intensity sweeteners; aspartame was at 36%. Fast forward to the first six months of 2018, stevia usage nearly doubled to 31%; aspartame fell to just 22%. With stevia, food and beverage companies have access to a non-GMO sweetener from a plant which can deliver on taste.

PureCircle works closely with the world’s leading beverage and food companies to supply them with stevia and to support their use of stevia. Major companies launching products with stevia leaf sweetener in the first half of 2018 included the following (in alphabetical order): Calbee Foods, The Coca-Cola Co, Danone, Grupo Bimbo, Kraft Heinz, Nestle, PepsiCo, Seven & I Holdings and Unilever.

Beverage and food product launches with stevia as an ingredient are taking place globally, according to Mintel research, with all regions seeing growth. The top two regions were Asia/Pacific (42%) and Europe (22%), followed by Latin America, North America and Middle East/Africa.

The story of stevia is evolving. Not long ago, it was viewed as a plant-based, zero-calorie, single-ingredient sweetener which worked well in some beverage and food applications. Today we offer a range of stevia leaf sweetener ingredients, including Reb M, with sugar-like taste and zero calories. Food and beverage companies have an increasing need for just such an ingredient, because consumers, health experts and governments have become increasingly concerned about obesity and diabetes, and consumers have become increasingly health and wellness conscious.

The Company collaborates with farmers who grow the stevia plants and with food and beverage companies which seek to improve their low- and no-calorie formulations using a sweetener from plants.

PureCircle will continue to: lead in research, development and innovation; produce a growing supply of multiple varieties of stevia sweeteners with sugar-like taste, using all necessary and appropriate methods of production; and be a resource and innovation partner for food and beverage companies.

PureCircle stevia flavor modifiers work in synergy with sweeteners to improve the taste, mouthfeel and calorie profile, and enhance the cost effectiveness, of beverage and food products.

Founded in 2002, PureCircle is continually investing in breakthrough research and development and it currently has more than 100 stevia-related granted patents and more than 250 patents pending globally.

PureCircle has offices around the world with the global headquarters in Chicago, Illinois.

To meet growing demand for stevia sweeteners, PureCircle is rapidly ramping up its supply capability. It completed expansion of its Malaysian stevia extract facility in March 2017, increasing its capacity to rapidly supply the newer and great-tasting stevia sweeteners and helping provide ever-increasing value to its customers.

PureCircle’s shares are listed on the main market of the London Stock Exchange.

Given the growing global concerns about obesity and diabetes, beverage and food companies are working responsibly to reduce sugar and calories in their products, responding to both consumers and health and wellness advocates. Sweeteners from the stevia plant offer sugar-like taste and are becoming an increasingly important tool for these companies.

Like sugar, stevia sweeteners are from plants. But unlike sugar, they enable low-calorie and zero-calorie formulations of beverages and foods.

Stevia leaf extract is a natural, zero calorie, high-intensity sweetener, used by global food and beverage companies as a great-tasting zero-calorie alternative to sugar and artificial sweeteners.

Stevia is a naturally sweet plant native to South America; today, it is grown around the world, notably in Kenya, China and the US.

The sweet-tasting parts of the stevia leaf are up to 400 times sweeter than sugar: stevia’s high-intensity sweetness means it requires far less water and land than sugar.

Research has shown that the molecules of the stevia leaf are present and unchanged in the dried stevia leaf, through the commercial extraction and purification process, and in the final stevia leaf extract product. Many major global regulatory organisations, across 65 countries, have approved the use of high-purity stevia leaf extracts in food and beverages.

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